LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 6: Chapter 6
What could be "smarter" than trying to kidnap the daughter of the local genius in the center (well, almost) of a shinobi village? The only thing more brilliant would be if the kidnappers were also residents of the same village. But that's not all! Now imagine that it's not the ANBU or the Root Division but just a few chunin, disgruntled with the girl's father. Not bad, huh?
And here's the "cherry on top" – two out of the three kidnappers were clearly tipsy, and now, slightly sobered up, these three… individuals were debating what to do next. Absurd doesn't even begin to describe the situation. They hadn't even thought about what to do after the kidnapping.
As it turned out, the only reason their kidnapping was successful was that Ino was one of those targets who wasn't heavily guarded. Why would she be? In a secure village like this, assigning guards to every heir would be overkill, especially in peaceful times. Besides, who would dare provoke the village's top mind manipulator? Apparently, three idiots would.
According to the system, I'm no intellectual either, but I would never pull off something this stupid. Plus, even though fellow villagers weren't under suspicion, I had a feeling that they'd only have about an hour before Ino's parents noticed her absence and sent professional shinobi after these amateur blackmailers.
Although failure wouldn't get me into trouble this time, I had a chance to earn a thousand experience points by rescuing the "Princess of Mind-Manipulators." Yep, way higher than my first quest, which was just some childish squabble—though even then, I risked facing Sasuke's parents' wrath. But here? One kunai slash from any of the trio, and I'm done for.
"Well, what now? Your brother's not getting released, and how exactly are we supposed to blackmail them? Filing a complaint would've been smarter," muttered the soberest of the trio while Ino Yamanaka, tied up with her mouth gagged, rolled her eyes furiously. Yeah, I recognized her immediately—after all, I'd seen her a couple of times before.
"Maybe we should just get rid of her?" suggested the drunkest one. Okay, time to intervene! I had serious doubts about the intelligence of these guys, so better not tempt these drunks into making an impulsive and irreversible decision. Also, a thousand experience points… that should give me two levels!
"Hey, I don't think that's a good idea. Calm down!" I started gently, then almost squealed when they all turned to me at once. Yeah, each one of them could snap me like a twig. And I had nothing to fight with. The only way out was to do what Ino's dad does best—mess with their heads.
"You guys are clearly strong enough to handle a kid; no need to react so aggressively. But think about this," I said innocently, maintaining a calm tone. Between their alcohol-clouded brains, my innocent demeanor, and my knack for persuasion, they were already listening.
Still, it was an exhausting process—constantly maneuvering, steering their thoughts in the right direction while appearing to take their side. It took a ton of effort to get them to release Ino and agree to confess their actions. I hammered home the idea that "in Konoha, we're all like family" and that "a sincere confession won't get you into trouble—you've already done the right thing." I even hinted that directly approaching the head interrogator would be the quickest way to get the brother released.
After nearly half an hour—during which I noticed an ANBU operative perched on a nearby tree (barely, and only by chance) and a Yamanaka clan member (who even Ino spotted)—the young Yamanaka was untied. The trio even drunkenly apologized to her before heading off toward Morino Ibiki's office. Oh, I can't wait to see his reaction!
Quest complete. Experience gained, along with a slight boost to my reputation with Ino (she clearly understood what I was doing), the Yamanaka clan, and even a tiny bit from the ANBU and their representative.
And with that, I collapsed from exhaustion.
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Ino's Perspective
Despite her young age, Ino was a sharp girl who appreciated the courage and performance of this boy who had saved her. However, she also knew that if his opponents had been a bit more sober, they wouldn't have listened to him at all. He'd been lucky. But isn't luck one of the qualities of a truly skilled shinobi, as her father often said?
For a moment, when he first stepped into the clearing, she'd already pictured him collapsing with a kunai in his head. Even during the first five minutes of his speech, she hadn't felt the slightest hope for a successful outcome. She often stayed late at friends' houses, and no one would've noticed her absence for a while. Normally, a guard would meet her as she left her friend's house. Today, for only the third time in her life, she'd decided to walk alone, not realizing the guards weren't around. A mistake, as it turned out.
Still, the boy surprised her—how skillfully he made those three follow his lead. Could he be from their clan? Probably not. Even though he was blonde, the main branch didn't have anyone like him, and his eyes weren't the characteristic muted color of the Yamanaka. She'd definitely tell her father everything and ask if it would be possible to befriend him—and maybe even invite him to their clan (not because she was manipulative, but because, to a child, it all seemed like a game).
"Phew!" the boy exhaled, his legs trembling as he sank to the ground before lying flat on his back.
"That's it! No more heroics. I've had enough," he muttered to himself, trying to calm down.
Ino frowned slightly. This wasn't the kind of behavior she expected from her rescuer. But a part of her understood that he'd been under enormous pressure the entire time. He clearly realized what those three could've done to him if he'd failed. So scolding him for such unheroic behavior would've been silly, even if it annoyed her.
"What's your name, rescued princess? Oh, and is that your clanmate sitting on the branch above me, watching with interest?" the boy asked indifferently, clearly in the aftermath of his ordeal.
"Yamanaka Ino. And you? And yes, he is!" she declared proudly.
"Uzumaki Naruto. Good. Let him take you home. I'll just lie here for an hour—I don't feel like moving, let alone standing up. Even that seems like a heroic feat right now," the boy sighed.
This response drove the young princess's indignation to new heights! How dare he save her but not escort her home?! That's not how it works in the stories! She was ready to jump up and kick him to his feet to make him act properly, but her clanmate stepped in, saving the boy from her wrath. She'd definitely remember this moment, though.
---
Two days before the start of the academy year.
The saga with Ino ended only when I reached her clan's gates. No one will ever know how much it took to get there. And the kiss on the cheek from my "rescued princess" did nothing to make me feel better. For one, I'm not interested in girls that young, period. Secondly, our relationship only deepened into a strong friendship. Lastly, I was almost certain she'd still chase after Sasuke anyway—and, frankly, I wasn't interested in her romantically, not even her older version. Friendship, however? That was fine.
Over the next few days, I developed a slight phobia of that park. In the same place, I rescued the wife of a daimyo's cat from a pack of dogs (the grateful woman rewarded me handsomely, and the genin team tasked with the search was glad it ended). I also helped an Akimichi boy my age, bullied for his weight (no, not Choji). Then came something similar with Sakura, though in her case, it was her "big forehead" being mocked. It wasn't hard to scare off the girls teasing her, especially with my reputation among parents as a troublemaker and with Ino stepping in too.
But I completely missed Hinata, who was saved by Kiba. Yeah, I was shocked too, but Kiba handled it perfectly, earning my genuine praise for his actions. After that, I couldn't help but notice Hinata sneaking glances at Kiba, often lingering on the edge of my vision.
Still, karma works in strange ways. Late one night, a shinobi with an unknown forehead protector tried sneaking Hanabi Hyuga through that same park. Turns out, being small can be useful—the guy didn't even glance down, and in the dark of night, my stealth was impeccable! My punch landed perfectly, and the rest was history.
Now, I was heading back to that cursed park, determined to hit level twelve. Armed with two bad kunai, three shuriken, and a stack of explosive tags found under a tree, I was ready to bring some "American-style democracy" to the place.
Or so I thought...